on this a strong leader and role model both on and off is what we need. Smith was out ALL of last season and I heard no one call for him to retire. Otherwise you end up with a bunch of TO's Moss' Walker's and Ocho Cincos. They are all talented but they have an ego that is almost uncontrollable. Lynch will keep these younger guys from getting a big head because they come up with 10 INT's or 100 Tackles and then holdout if the team doesn't pay them enough. Football is not a one man sport and while SuperFreak is an amazing receiver, he cant play 11 positions on two sides of the ball. Now I have said that my dealings are all in soccer and there are super super way over paid players there just like football. What they start to realize as they play with better players is when you play you have to sacrifice one of two things your salary or the championship. Soccer is like baseball in it is a sport of have and have not. But you still need money to buy the big names.

First, to get a good perspective make sure you read Styg50's excellent series on Lynch from just a couple months back.

Here's my take.

1. We agree that Lynch is not a good coverage safety.  His speed will also be diminished further this year.  Fair enough.
2. Lynch remains one of the smartest players in the game.  As a player, he reads offenses quicker than most defensive coordinators.  He also remains a heavy hitter (a "fumble causer").
3. Leadership may sound like an "intangible", but for a young squad coming off of a dissapointing year I can't begin to communicate the value of an intelligent, effective leader in the trenches.
4. Most importantly, it is reasonalbe to assume that Slowick will have the SS in the box on most plays, whether we use a zone blitz system or a show blitz system (my two guesses for what kind of system Slowick tends towards).  In either scheme Lynch fits well.

I'm with you in the sense that I would have liked to see Hamza paired with either a coverage safety from the draft, FA, or a trade.  I very much prefer safeties who have speed as a factor.  But now that Lynch is here for the year, and given that we will probably play him in the box anyway, we should be just fine.

Three more quick points.  I differ with you on the point that Lynch isn't that good in the box.  He and Williams were the only bright spots in the box in '07 in my opinion.  Also, the fact that the man restructured his contract means the team has money to spend elsewhere.  Last, Lynch won't be an everydown safety.  I fully expect him to be out on projected pass plays.

all players become dead weight at age 33.  Lynch is a run stopper and an inspiring leader in this team.   Would you rather have a Private First Class or General Patton lead your army?